The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-19
GAMBLING LEVELS ALL RANKS.
A Curious Group Seen at the Sleeps
head Bay Race Track the Other Day.

/ a Curious Group Seen at the ShSeps-
head Bay Race Track the Other Day.
From the Louisville Cottrier-JourndI.
One of the most unique groups ever saw
was at the races. 1t consisted OF five per
sons in box at the front of the grand stand,
and now and then one or two others VINO
stood on the turf in front In the forward
row was young colored woman and two
young Irish women. Back of them were
husband and wife of middle age, neither OF
them Irish or colored, All of them were
intent upon the races, and had come down
to bet A young Irishman was the messen,
ger and head of the party. He renamed
on the turf in front except when he Went TO
the betting pavilion to learn about the odds
or to place money. They were all quiet and
unobtrusive, and for this reason probably
escaped my notice until after tho first race:
Then tall, powerfully built negro passed
along the turf from the pavilion, and as ne
went before the box he looked up at the
group and in tone which was at once
politely familiar and business-like said:
'Well, did you make good thing~
1t was one of the Irish girls who re-
piled:
Eyes, five for one."
And the colored woman added, 81 got
there too"
Their tones indicated satisfaction, but it
was of the kind in which enthusiasm was re-
pressed, in which long experience had driven
out excitement. 1t was as clear as the hot
sunlight that they were regular attendants
that betting partoOk with them of buSl-
ness character. They were typical New
Workers in dress, but there was none of that
fash that would lead to a suspicion OF IT.
regularity. The negro went his way, but
during the afternoon frequently returned
and engaged the girls in conversation.
n hlanl-ap mar
grave face was hghtened only by the red of
his lips and the whites of his eyes, and when
he smiled, by adeep dimple, in which the
sunbeams play and lost themselves. He
wore a narrow-rimmed brown derby on the
side of his head, a dark green, diagonal
coat mixed trousers, a white spotted vest, q
large blue tie, and he carried an umbrella in
his hand
have said that this party gambled as
matter of business; | should make one ex-
ception. One of the Irish girls in the front
row shrunk back into her chair and never
said word during the entire afternoon.
And nobody addressed word to her. She
watched the young man who did the plac-
ing of the money, and when the negro was
present she watched him, and during a race
she lookedi shyly at the racers; but she
hardly moved from her chair, and never
smiled. Her companions were not so lucky
on the next two races as they had been on
the first The horses were started opposite
the grand stand, and when the starter drop
ped his flag and Mr.. j. B. Haggin's Firenzi
went off more than a length ahead Of the
rest, the party in the box joined vigorously
in the kissing and grooming that went up in
criticism of the manifest bad Judgment of
the official. They looked bitterly sour, for
they had not backed Firenz, and when
that horse crossed the line a winner they
shut their teeth together and declared that
they hadn't been given chance for their
money. They consulted their programmes,
and the young man went off to find how the
odds were on the third race. There were
eight starters, and at least four favorites
When the young man returned all the racers
were on the track taking their preliminary
exercise He reported that he could get a
bet of u to 1 against Belinda, one of August
Belmont's horses. The betting was nearly
even on the favorites The party looked at
the track.
81 think it had better be Belinda" said the
white girl seriously.
''She's good one" acquiesced the colored
girl.
And the young man evidently had a tip
on Belinda for he also favored placing the
money ON her. Such was the result. When
the start was made, Belinda went off good
third, and there was much excitement in
the party at the prospects of getting $75 for
before an eighth of a mile had been run Be-
linda had dropped to within hailing dis
lance of the rear. Then the excitement
was turned to disappointment, and the
young white girl exclaimed: There's
my Belinda, and she can't get through"
which mixture of feminine and horse
talk meant that Belinda was doing well, but
the horses in front of her were in the way,
and SO prevented her from getting the lead
They lost, but consolation was ready in the
fact that Belinda had done well, and had it
not been that she did not have time to get
around the competitors she might have Won
Then something occurred to the white girl.
Hastily she leaned over the rail of the box
and looked down at her feet. A shade of
annoyance crossed her face, and she settled
back, and smoothed out her skirts and
shook them down, after which she leaned
carefully over again to see what the effect
of her action had been. Not all the girls
in. the grand stand had been SO thought
full.